Red and her Wolf Ch. 03-04

Chapter Three:

Emily:

The last thing I expected to see tonight was Kade prowling my living room as I shine a path for him with my cellphone torch. But here he is. Empty mason jar in his hand, scanning the floor, stepping slow and predatory.

He stops in the center of the room. Goes completely still before his gaze centers on a dark corner. He takes two strides, lowers into a crouch, and slams the upside-down jar on the floorboard in one knifelike swoop. So fast, I feel a surge of adrenaline just from watching.

My light travels to the glass under Kade's fingers, revealing a tiny mouse attempting to dart up the smooth sides.

I'm not sure what's more impressive: Kade's reflexes or the fact he just did that in near-pitch darkness.

"Gotcha, buddy." He slips the lid under the mouth of the jar and tilts it, quickly screwing the lid shut before standing to full height. The mouse squeaks, circling it's glass cage as Kade observes with detached curiosity. "So, this is the little guy that made you scream like a fucking banshee, huh?"

I'm tempted to blind Kade with my phone again. "He's a lot more scream-inducing when he's not inside a jar." I know I sound haughty, bitchiness flowing with surprising ease. I lean against the doorframe separating the living room from the kitchen. "Well, I guess you can leave now. Thanks for the help."

Kade's teeth flash in the shadows. He saunters over and takes my wrist with a warm, calloused grip. The unexpected contact chokes off my breath.

"What are you-"

He places the jar in my hand. "I'm checking your circuit breakers, remember?" He releases my wrist. Squeezes past me to get through the doorway. My breasts inadvertently brush against his chest and despite his casual motion, it triggers a molten heat in my lower belly.

"Um, I haven't got a clue where or what they are," I frown, attempting to smother my jitters, that brief taste of Kade's body against mine. I fold my arms over my chest, nipples hard enough for me to feel awkward despite the dark.

Why do I always happen to not have a bra on when Kade's around? My tits definitely aren't small enough to rock that look.

Kade's lithe back and shoulders face me as he crosses the kitchen, muscle working under rain-damp cotton. I swallow and look away. Glancing at the jar in my palm to see a tiny quivering creature blinking at me. Grey and pink-tailed. It's nose twitches, sniffing nervously as it paws the glass. "It's okay," I whisper. "I'll free you soon."

I set the jar on the counter and follow behind my neighbour. He opens my pantry, disappearing inside for less than five seconds before grunting, "Found it."

Which...is kind of weird because I haven't even shone the torch for him. I step inside, hold my cell up to see what he's seeing. A panel comes into view on the far end of the pantry, which he opens, revealing a board of switches. He clicks them all on.

"Try the lights now." He turns just as I step forward and bumps into me hard, catching my shoulders when I nearly topple over from the impact. "Shit." Strong fingers tighten on me as I gain my bearings. "Sorry, sweetheart."

Somehow I'm more winded from him calling me that than him nearly knocking me on my ass. "It's fine." He's so close to me in this tiny cupboard of a room. I swear his thumbs smooth down my arms for a brief moment before he lets me go, leaving my body buzzing.

Knowing the kitchen lightbulb has burnt out, I escape to the living room. Switch the light on. Yellowy haze replaces shadow.

"They work." My lips twitch before I shift to Kade, now emerging to lean a hip against the kitchen counter. "Thanks again." I clear my throat, grabbing the mouse-laden jar from next to him. He just nods, looking at me with an intensity that has me frazzled.

I carry the jar out to the porch steps slick with rain, releasing the tiny creature in the tall grass. It scampers away. I take a minute to feel the light drizzle on my skin. Watch the moon disappear behind a cloud. A relief from the growing tension inside my cabin.

When I return, Kade's starting a fire in the wood stove. The small pile of cut logs in the corner had only been collecting dust since I arrived. He pulls a lighter from his pocket. Sparks the kindling, flames rising with a crackle.

I keep my distance. Watching in the corner, shoulder pressed against the wall. I don't know what to say to him. Tongue-tied as I admire the strong slope of his shoulders, the fire highlighting his aquiline profile. He stokes the flame before meeting my eyes.

"You didn't have to do that," I murmur, unable to look away. There's a stretch of us just looking. Watching.

Kade's the first one to break, glancing back at the fire. "You must be freezing here at night." He knows right away that I haven't lit the fire myself yet, that I don't know how.

I'm about to ask him to teach me how to make one, but he's done enough for me as it is. I don't want to bother him more than I already have. I shrug instead. "It's been a bit chilly."

We fade into silence again. Kade adds another log to the woodstove. "So...what brings you all the way out to the middle of nowhere?"

I'm not sure how much to relay. How he'll react to my mental breakdown. "Shit hit the fan and I had to get out of that situation as soon as possible." More than I wanted to say. My mouth curls into a grimace as I wait for Kade's reaction.

"I see." He stands. A slow, regal motion. "And what do you plan on doing while you're out here?" He pauses. "Besides fix the place up."

I honestly haven't given it much thought. "I dunno. Read. Draw. Maybe explore the woods. I haven't been on a hike in awhile."

Kade's demeanour shifts in an instant. Casual to dangerous. "A hike?"

My brows furrow at the cold look he just gave me. I turn catty in response."Yeah. You ever been on one? You know, pack a lunch, take the afternoon-"

"I wouldn't do that." He's dead serious. Shakes his head, jaw clenched. "Don't do that."

My frown deepens. "I'm pretty sure I can do whatever the hell I want."

Kade chuckles without humour. "No. I'd say in this case, you fucking can't." He takes two steps towards me. A serpentine, agile movement. "Nobody can."

"Excuse me?" Something between a shiver and a heat wave rocks my bones. My senses crossed from this beautiful man inching closer, his controlling words scolding me."You can't tell me what I can or cannot do."

A flicker of hesitation. "No, I guess not." His lips press together before his gaze fills with resolve. "But if you go in there, I'm damn well coming with you."

My mouth parts at his nerve. "Uh, no you won't."

His harsh grin slants. Has me feeling like easy prey again. "Believe me, Red. Nobody goes in the forest alone." His eyes harden. "Nobody has for years."

A flashback of tonight's view of the forest passes in my mind's eye. Black trees swaying. The sensation of being watched from between the branches. "You're making it sound like it's haunted..."

"Can't confirm or deny that." He seals the gap between us. Crowds me until I'm backed into the wall. My breath catches when he presses a palm beside my head. "But I'll tell you this, city girl: if you go in there, all sweet and innocent like you are..." He leans until his words rasp in my ear. "You won't be alone, whether I'm with you or not."

No reply forms, tongue numb. I'm not sure what he means. Not sure if I'm more breathless from his body so close to mine, or his tone holding so much warning.

Then he pulls back an inch to give me a searing once-over and I remember again that I'm not wearing a bra. That, unlike last time, this isn't a baggy shirt. It's also no longer dark in here, the light from the hall streaming into the room. The fire bathing us in warm amber. Kade's lashes lower a fraction, his gaze going languid, sensual. Heat grows in the space between our bodies. My breasts feel heavy. Warmth pools under my navel. Between my thighs.

Then, just as I am a hundred percent positive he's going to kiss me, he pulls away with a strained exhale.

My ego is punctured. A deflating balloon.

"Well, Red." Kade's nostrils flare as he backs up a step. "I'll be keeping an eye on you." He slowly turns for the exit, hand running through that thick dark hair. That tall, lean body moving with a smooth stroll like he didn't just have me cornered. Then he pauses, lingering in the doorway before shooting me a cutting smirk. "Just like you've been keeping an eye on me."

A moment later he's out the front door, and my spine is still flat against the wall. Blood pumping frenetically. Panties flooded. I place a palm over my pounding heart, trying to steady my nerves.

What the fuck was that?

*

The next day, Ray comes over. The sun sparkles as we sit on the front patio steps together sipping fresh lemonade. Spiked with whiskey, of course. Seems unlikely I'll be heading to the library after all.

"I have to admit, Em." Ray scans over the mint-clean porch, the garden beds I weeded all by myself this morning. "You're not doing too bad out here."

"Honestly, it's been a rough few days." I adjust my sepia-tinted shades, trying not to look at the adjacent house, "but I'm learning."

"Wait..." Ray cranes her neck, watching as my neighbour balances on a ladder to clean his gutters. "Who the hell is that?"

"Oh...him." I give Kade a disparaging scan. "He's a dickhead."

Ray has a slight smile etched on her face. "A very easy on the eyes dickhead?"

I nudge her arm."You don't even go for guys."

"You'd have to be blinder than a bat to not notice that one." Ray motions with her cup, sloshes lemonade all over my porch. "Oops. Hah, my bad."

"You're getting drunker than a skunk, sis." I watch lemonade drip through a crack between the boards, my own senses beginning to swirl.

"I'm not the one who put the whole bottle in here." Ray stares into her cup.

"Are you going to be able to drive?"

"Doubtful." Ray slowly beams. "Sleepover?"

"Yes, please." I won't lie. It's been getting lonely out here. Even lonelier since my neighbour left my cabin. Depressing, even. I smile at the comfort of having my sister over for a laugh or three. Then I hesitate. "Do you know how to start a fire?"

*

Turns out Ray still remembers her lessons from Girl Scouts. I watch the process of building a fire in the wood-stove carefully this time, filming the process on my phone. Cedar burns and pops as we sit on lawn chairs. Our marshmallows wedged on chopsticks, browning to a crisp.

"So..." Ray eyes me with mischief. "What's with you and Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome?" She slowly rotates her marshmallow.

"Who?" I feign ignorance.

She elbows me."Your neighbour, obviously. Seems like he's affecting you some kinda way. A very, very rare event."

My shoulders raise. Voice airy despite the way my heartbeat picks up a notch. "Affecting is a strong word." I catch Ray's disbelieving look. "He sort of...came over the other day."

"Go on." Ray's eyebrows wiggle. "I need juicy details."

"Alright, I'll admit it. I didn't get these working on my own." I gesture to the glowing lamp in the corner. "He helped me out."

Ray gasps dramatically. "Such a dickhead thing to do!"

"You should see him, though. He can't help like a normal person. He has to be all vague and sardonic about everything. Like when he caught the mouse-"

"He caught a mouse for you?" Ray bats my shoulder.

"In a jar," I say with reluctance. "A baby one. I released it back into the wild."

Ray sips from her mug of whiskey-infused lemonade, voice a tad slurred. "Wow, so not only is he an asshole, he's also a very helpful asshole."

"Whatever." I blow steam off my marshmallow. Take a bite before continuing. "And then he goes on this whole don't-go-into-the-woods tirade right before he's about to kiss me-"

"Wait, what?" Ray slams her mug on the hardwood floor. "There was a kiss already?"

"Well...no." I can't stop my shoulders from slumping. "It just seemed like he was going to. Maybe."

"So let me get this straight. He's an asshole because he hasn't kissed you yet?"

No. Yes. No.

"There are many reasons he's an asshole but I wouldn't say that's one of them," I admit, watching flames ripple and curl. I puff out a sigh. "I think he has a girlfriend."

"Oh." Ray matches my disappointment. "That sucks."

"It's not a big deal."

Ray goes quiet and I can tell she's doubting me before she quirks a brow. "What's the whole drama about the woods anyway?"

My shoulders scrunch. "He didn't really tell me. Just told me I'm not to go in there." I refrain from telling her the details: that he insisted he come with me if I was going to go in. That he said he'd be keeping an eye on me. That he had me pressed up against a wall while he called me sweet and innocent.

It really doesn't make him look good. Especially if he has a girlfriend. A part of me wants to protect his image for some reason.

"Weird." Ray sucks her teeth, contemplative. "Maybe he's been living out here for too long." Her finger makes a looping circle by her head. "Hot doesn't always mean sane, I suppose."

I snort at that jab, though my stomach twists remembering Kade's warning.

Later, as whiskey continues to snake it's way through our bloodstreams, our laughter becoming more and more pronounced, the loud rumble of an engine echoes from outside.

Ray perks up."Ooh, who's that?" She rises sloppily to her feet. "Sounds like a muscle car. Does your boy drive one?"

"He's not my boy," I hiccup. "And he drives a big blue pickup truck."

"So manly," Ray coos, meandering towards the sound.

I stumble after her. "Where are you going?"

"I want to see who it is..." She lurches into the dark kitchen, hands cupping around her eyes at the window. "Can barely see anything. Stupid trees."

"Since when are you such a snoop?"

"Like you wouldn't be looking if I wasn't here." A car door slams shut in the distance.

"True."An idea slinks into my periphery. "Hey, I think we'll be able to see from my room."

"Let's go." Ray staggers out the kitchen, up the stairs. I follow behind. We tiptoe to the bedroom window, giggling like impish three year olds.

The car in Kade's driveway looks like...a hearse. So black it would almost disappear into the night if it weren't for the porch light shining on it.

"Huh. Nice stationwagon," Ray chirps. "Very seventies." She peers closer. "Someone just got out. Looks like...a chick."

My muscles freeze. I already know who it is, but I ask, "What does she look like?"

"Hard to tell. She's wearing all black. Got a wide-brimmed hat. And..." Ray pushes her face against the glass. "She's carrying a big box of something."

"Probably honey." I try to control the let-down in my voice. "It's his girlfriend. I guess they didn't sell out the stock."

"Okay, you're going to have to explain that more. Honey?"

"Kade has a bunch of hives in his backyard. I went to the market the other day and she was selling his honey there. Dream Hill Honey."

Ray pulls away from the window to look at me, emanating sympathy.

"It's not like I care," I say quickly.

"Sure, you don't." Ray touches my arm. "Hey, it's okay to dig the hot neighbour that helps you fix your decrepit home, Em," she slurs. "It's okay to really want someone. And it's okay to feel sad about them being taken. Just let it out. That's why I'm here."

"Don't call my home decrepit." I push her hand away. "And yeah, there's a little attraction. But between him being a total weirdo last night and having a girlfriend, I'm not interested."

At least, I desperately don't want to be.

Ray's face only contains suspicion."I see your point, but...something tells me this lil' thang between you two isn't quite over yet. For better or worse." She blinks hazily at me before looking back out the window. "I wonder what she's like."

The girl on Kade's doorstep doesn't bother to knock. She just opens the door and steps right in.

*

Chapter Four:

Kade:

She's here.

I lean back in my chair, analyzing the gradient of wood in the fox figurine I'm carving. Listening to the creak of approaching footsteps, loud as hell for someone so small.

She storms into the room, drops a box on the table. It lands with an unpleasant thud. Glass clattering.

I keep my eyes on the fox's tail. Chip away carefully. "Rough day at the office?" Without looking up I sense the glare.

"Don't give me that shit, Kade. This is the last weekend I work the stall for you."

"You know there's a backlog of garden stuff I'm working on." My knife keeps steady, wood shavings curling under the sharp blade. "Besides, you're getting a quarter of the revenue." I glance up from my work. "You're broke, Phoenix. I'm doing you a fucking favour."

"At this rate, you'll be broke too." Phoenix yanks a chair out, sits down with a huff. "I can't sell anything worth a damn. I have zero sales skills."

"It's only your second time out. You'll get better."

"Why can't I work in the garden?"

"Because last time you tried you lit my lawn on fire, remember?"

Phoenix points at me, blue eyes flaring. "The only reason you're making me go to market is because you don't want to do it."

"No lie there." I shrug. "Doesn't change a thing. If you want extra cash, you gotta accept the fact that I'm your boss now."

Phoenix slumps in her seat, sour. "I hate working for family. Feels wrong."

"You brought it upon yourself. I think it's called karma."

"Do you actually believe in that?"

"Nope."

"I hate you."

"I don't get what the big deal is. Use your abilities. Get in their heads."

"I can't control it like that. It's either bombarding me or nothing."

"Lack of practice," I point out.

"Lack of practice, my ass. You didn't even have to try with your gift. It just turned on fully formed."

"No, it didn't." A grimace pulls at my mouth. "I studied, honed it. I'm lightyears better than when I began." I set the figurine down. "You can get better too."

Phoenix goes silent. Drums her fingers on the wooden tabletop. A long space of soundless irritation ensues before she says, "You've got a new neighbor, I see."

My gut flips, knife faltering. "Yup."

"So..." Phoenix pushes closer, her pale hands smoothing over oak. "Who is she?"

"How do you know she's a she?"

"I might not study my gift but it always let's me know when there's important shit going down." A wide grin emerges. "Plus, she came to market yesterday. She's pretty."

I look into the eyes of the fox I created. "I know."

"Are you going to do something about that?"

My brow raises.

"You've been alone for a long time, Kade," Phoenix continues. "Ever since-"

"I'm really not in the mood to talk about this."

"Why? Because the redhead has got you wrapped around her little finger?"

My lip curls. "She's...sweet. Young." Beautiful. Vibrant. Enchanting. "A little naive."

"You think everyone's naive, Kade."

"Why are you pushing this?"

"Because even though you're annoying and belligerent, you're still my brother." The corner of her mouth lifts. "And I can tell when my brother's lonely."

Terrible silence fills the room.

"I told you I can't be involved with humans anymore. Not pure humans anyway."

"So there was a little hiccup in your last relationship," Phoenix hums. "It's time to move on. It was two years ago, after all."

Despite her being right, all my body strains, one hand tightening into a fist at my thigh. I don't respond.

"You're worried about something," Phoenix purrs. "Aren't you?" She peers at me, gaze inching past the boundary of my skull, her energy field attempting to read mine. I let her dig a little. The sensation smarts, as if she's stabbing a pin into my brain. She releases it with a small gasp. "They're here?"

"Came by a few days ago." I nod, rubbing my temple. "They still can't see me. Yet." I exhale slowly. "It's only a matter of time."